The present invention relates to a method of applying electrical energy to a reactant chamber and more particularly relates to a method of applying electrical energy to enhance a chemical or physical process being carried out in a reactant chamber by exciting a material within a reactant chamber to thereby generate said electrical energy.
It has long been known that electrostatic forces play a part in making possible the familiar surface effects involved in many well known surface chemistry and physical processes, e.g. adsorption, absorption, heterogeneous catalysis, surface tension, capillary action, etc. Attempts have been made to modify the electrostatic forces involved in such processes to enhance or improve the processes, themselves.
For example, attempts have been made to modify the electrostatic forces in some of these processes by applying an external electrical field thereto while the process is being carried out. However, in some instances, the amount of electrical power needed to provide an external field of sufficient strength to have any significant effect on the process is so large as to be impractical, if not impossible, with present technology.
One such process is adsorption. As is known, common adsorbents such as fuller's earth, silica gel, charcoal, and molecular sieves take on vast amounts of gases by providing large surface areas in their pores, e.g. 500 square meters of total surface area per one cubic centimeter of bulk volume. The pores in these adsorbents normally consist of cages formed by positive and negative ions (e.g. aluminum, silicon, and oxygen) which in turn form the lattice network of the adsorbent. The dimensions of these cages are on the order of molecular diameters (i.e. angstroms) to tens of molecular diameters. The gas molecule to be adsorbed experiences a "sticking" effect when it strikes a surface within the lattice of the adsorbent due to the unbalanced electrostatic forces on the molecule and is trapped by this sticking effect in the pores of adsorbent.
When electrical energy is applied to the adsorbent while a substance is being adsorbed therein, the electrostatic holding power of the adsorbent is favorably altered to increase the adsorbing capacity of the adsorbent. However, as stated above, simple calculations indicate that it is not practical to apply sufficient electrical energy in the form of an external electrical field to substantially alter adsorbing capacity of the adsorbent. That is, one volt of electricity across 10 angstroms is equivalent to a 10.sup.7 volts per centimeter field strength. A 100 centimeter long reactant chamber would therefore require 10.sup.9 volts applied end to end which is not feasible or practical in commercial reactant chambers.
Another example of where the application of an electrical charge to a process can be beneficial is catalysis. While there are many theories involved in catalysis, all recognize that adsorption on the catalyst takes place in order to lock a given molecule (or species) into a fixed position which is favorable for collision with another molecule (or species). The electric field influences the adsorption properties of the catalyst in the same manner as it does with an adsorbent.